British chicken coop question

[IamRainey]

I am watching a good number of British gardening shows (Love Your Garden and Big Dreams, Small Spaces). Apparently chickens are a regular feature of backyard gardens. Consistently, they show chicken coops that are about the size of small dog houses. These adorable little hen houses are surrounded by chicken wire or picket fences 2'-3' high. Nothing is ever covered beyond the hen house roof. The coops don't seem to have nesting boxes.

Is this typical? Are there no predators? Do neighbors simply return chickens who've flown over boundary fences (also only 5'-7')? How are these coops cleaned out? Where do the hens lay their eggs? Or is this simply the delusion of TV production companies and their designers who are designing for an immediate video effect and not for any long term operation and maintenance?

 

[Kris5902]

Kind of like these? 10 hens??? Comfortably??? I’ve got pretty small tractors myself but unrealistic expectations much? I know the predator situation is different there too.

 

[Keeperofmunchkins]

I live in Britain (England) and I would say that keeping chickens is not all that common, although it is getting more popular. I believe that premade coops are far more common here than home made coops and most places only sell the pretty little type coops you mentioned. The ones I have seen have a nest box or two at the back of the coop portion with an attached tiny run. I suspect a lot of people are keeping their chickens in more close confines than is ideal.

The only predator we have here are foxes, but they can be a serious problem. I live in a large city and we have foxes everywhere here. However some people in smaller towns or villages never see a fox and therefore chickens would be safe.

Also most neighbours I've experienced would be a bit put out to have someone else's chicken in their garden and would most likely come over and demand I remove it.
I have 6 foot boundary fences and my chickens never fly over to the neighbours.

 

[IamRainey]

No, Kris. More like this:



Adorable but, it seems to me, completely impractical. Around this, at least according to the shows, a person would draw some chicken wire or put up an equally adorable picket fence to about the height of the eaves.

 

[Kris5902]

No, Kris. More like this:

View attachment 1864803

Adorable but, it seems to me, completely impractical. Around this, at least according to the shows, a person would draw some chicken wire or put up an equally adorable picket fence to about the height of the eaves.

That is quite cute! I was thinking size and function and that ad kept popping to mind... They must have very lazy chickens I suppose, and only a few hens. I have a 2’ high tractor which manages to keep my meat birds from flying out, but that’s about it, and one keeps contemplating it (I think they are getting close to 18 lbs now)

 

[Shamo Hybrid]

Backyard chickens are becoming a fad, or have been a fad for quite some time now...... especially with those urban 'hipster' people who wants to look cool or whatever (you know, them types with rooftop gardens, etc).

 

[Perris]

is this simply the delusion of TV production companies

TV companies do of course adapt their material to make better telly! I don't think backyard chickens are common in the UK, even among the subset that form the intended audience for such shows. But there are some real difference with what seems to be the norm on your side of the pond. Re: predators, as keeperofmunchkins said, we only really have foxes to worry about, and of course dogs. Beyond suburbia there are raptors too, goshawks, buzzards, kites etc. But no coons, coyotes, bears eek, snakes and such challenges that others have to overcome.
Re: coops, they do have nesting boxes inside, but something is getting lost in translation here, to wit that in the UK 'coop' means just a structure that the birds roost and lay in (what you also call a hen house); they are not expected to spend any other time in there. How much room they have outside/beyond it is very variable of course.
Specifically on Eglus, they are trendy in the UK for those with significant disposable income, and come with ridiculously small runs as per the ad you saw. But being (sturdy) plastic they reduce or eliminate mites which is one of their selling points (and ready made wooden ones are no bigger by and large). They are relatively easy to disassemble (the panels separate) and power wash, so cleaning is easier than it is with a wooden one. A panel gives access to the nesting box (I think you can see it on the side in the picture, but I'm not sure as I don't have an Eglu). They don't need painting. They work when the hens can free range; those who prefer a tidy garden tend to give up chicken keeping and sell the coops on resale sites. (They hold their value well here too, much better than wooden ones do.) I hope this explains the apparent anomalies

 

[Stiletto]

Kind of like these? 10 hens??? Comfortably??? I’ve got pretty small tractors myself but unrealistic expectations much? I know the predator situation is different there too.
View attachment 1864776

If you read the specs further down the page they are more specific:

come with ridiculously small runs as per the ad you saw.

You choose the length of run you want, in one metre segments. You can also choose no run (if you have your own run, for example) and not to buy the wheels either.

A panel gives access to the nesting box (I think you can see it on the side in the picture, but I'm not sure as I don't have an Eglu).

Yep!

 

[Kris5902]

If you read the specs further down the page they are more specific:

View attachment 1865126




You choose the length of run you want, in one metre segments. You can also choose no run (if you have your own run, for example) and not to buy the wheels either.



Yep!

Yes, that is surely in the details... but I didn’t read them, how well does the average consumer research things. Still looks small to me, even for 10 bantams. And I’m not knocking the other selling features like plastic is washable for mites etc. I’m only criticizing the somewhat misleading advertising that is initially presented to the consumer, (in regards to the delusions of television production companies statement) I keep ten normal sized chickens and 1 rooster in a 3x6’ (1x2m) “coop” (by that definition) with 4 3’ roosts and two internal nest boxes, over a 1” (2.5cm) wire floor over most of it, so yes, I do understand all those points.

 

[Stiletto]

Yes, that is surely in the details... but I didn’t read them, how well does the average consumer research things. Still looks small to me, even for 10 bantams. And I’m not knocking the other selling features like plastic is washable for mites etc. I’m only criticizing the somewhat misleading advertising that is initially presented to the consumer, (in regards to the delusions of television production companies statement) I keep ten normal sized chickens and 1 rooster in a 3x6’ (1x2m) “coop” (by that definition) with 4 3’ roosts and two internal nest boxes, over a 1” (2.5cm) wire floor over most of it, so yes, I do understand all those points.

You're not in the market for one of these coops, but surely a person who is interested in buying one would read beyond the introduction. If someone is going to fork out between 550-950 pounds/dollars and doesn't look at the specs or read through the page (which is hardly onerous), well... I don't really know what to say!

To be fair, compared to other coop companies referenced on this site, Omlet give a more realistic idea of how many chickens can be kept in their coops. They do qualify their initial "up to ten" statement and give a guideline for the different sizes. It's in the specifications section, right under "How much space do I need to keep chickens?" - not obscured in small print.

I've not seen their advertising, only their website and I don't understand what you mean by this:

I’m only criticizing the somewhat misleading advertising that is initially presented to the consumer, (in regards to the delusions of television production companies statement)

I don't watch TV, so maybe that's part of it!

Regarding size, I agree with this:

Re: coops, they do have nesting boxes inside, but something is getting lost in translation here, to wit that in the UK 'coop' means just a structure that the birds roost and lay in (what you also call a hen house); they are not expected to spend any other time in there.

The way I use it, the "coop" is both the (plastic) cube and (metal mesh) run together; that's where they are confined, if need be. However, this is rare. They have free access to a much larger area to roam in, within a movable fence. @IamRainey this fence is 1.25m high (4.1 foot) and the chickens stay within it, barring exceptional circumstances. This roaming area is not covered.